Statement from the Office of the Secretary of the University and of the Board of Regents on UP Presidency Candidates

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Statement from the Office of the Secretary of the University and of the Board of Regents on UP Presidency Candidates

On 23 September 2016, the UP Board of Regents received the nominations for the following for the position of UP President:

Consolacion R. Alaras

Danilo L. Concepcion

Gisela P. Concepcion

Prospero E. De Vera III

Rowena Cristina L. Guevara

Orlando S. Mercado

Benito M. Pacheco

Roger D. Posadas

Caesar A. Saloma

Michael L. Tan

At a special meeting of the Board of Regents held on 1 October 2016, the Board conducted a preliminary screening and evaluation of the nominees based solely on the following minimum requirements: 1) holder of a Master’s degree; doctorate preferred; 2) substantial academic experience at the tertiary level; 3) should be able to serve the full term of six (6) years before reaching the age of 70; and 4) no conviction for administrative and criminal offenses. Based on this, the Board then unanimously accepted the nominations of the following as candidates for the UP Presidency:

Danilo L. Concepcion

Gisela P. Concepcion

Prospero E. De Vera III

Rowena Cristina L. Guevara

Benito M. Pacheco

Caesar A. Saloma

Four (4) of the ten (10) nominees were not included in the list of candidates for the UP Presidency due to the fact that they did not meet the minimum requirement that a candidate “should be able to serve the full term of six (6) years before reaching the age of 70.”

The Board of Regents’ unanimous decision to uphold this requirement, after due deliberations, was based on the following legal grounds:

Under Republic Act No. 9500 (the UP Charter of 2008), Section (j), the Board of Regents is given the power to elect the University President based on standards and guidelines set by the Board of Regents itself. Clearly, the Board of Regents is expressly granted the power to set the standards or requirements in electing the UP President.

The UP Charter of 2008 is silent on the age requirement or limit for the UP President.

The old UP Charter (Act 1870), likewise, was also silent on the age limit for the UP President. Yet the Board of Regents was empowered then as now to set the age limit for the position, which it did set at 70 years old in 1961 by way of a Board Resolution at its 686th meeting held on 14 June 1961. The age limit of 70 years old now forms part of UP’s University Code.

The age limit of 70 years old has been in existence since 14 June 1961. Such age limit was last observed during the time of UP President Francisco Nemenzo who was elected for a term of 6 years (from 6 August 1999 to 5 August 2005) but had to resign upon reaching the age of 70 on 9 February 2005, a few months before the expiration of his term.

There are general legislations that provide for the age limit of 70 years old. For instance, RA 8282 (the Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997) states that the term of the President of a state college or university may be extended beyond the age of retirement (65 years old)but not later than the age of 70 years old.

Regarding the requirement for serving the full term of six (6) years, the UP Charter of 2008 (RA 9500) provides the basis. Section 13 (j) of the UP Charter clearly states, among others, the Powers and Duties of the Board of Regents, as follows:

Section 13 (j): “To elect the President of the University for a single term of six (6) years following a process of democratic consultation with the university community based on standards and guidelines set by the Board. In the event of a vacancy, the Board shall elect a President who shall serve a full term.”

In addition, Section 14 (paragraph 2) of the UP Charter provides:

Section 14 (paragraph 2): “The President of the University shall be appointed by the Board and shall serve for a single term of six (6) years.”